THE CRUSADE OF EPICS: Results -> A Change Of Seasons wins!

I hate putting Jon Schaffer one step closer to any kind of victory, but Stygian wins this easily. Though I’m technically voting for the Barlow version.
 
This Iseditionist Earth song has some nice riffage, though parts of it borrow liberally from Metallica’s “To Live Is To Die”, and there’s a lot of Judas Priest cribbing too. The production isn’t very good, and neither is the C-list Halford clone of a singer. And like nearly every other Iseditionist Earth song I’ve heard, the songwriting stinks — there are a bunch of cool riffs, interludes, and solos, but they feel slapped together in semi-random order and don’t come together into a coherent, directed song. Musically there’s a lot of good raw material here, but they need a better chef to bring it all together effectively.

“Prophet Of The Last Eclipse” is unfortunately not the type of song that hits fully with one listen, and it is a bit repetitive in parts; but it’s otherwise a suitably grand Luca Turilli epic with the unique neoclassical synthy space opera style he adopted for this album. Love the big choral vocals, the sweet guitar and piano interlude, the weird business with the piano and the baby crying, and the delicious harmonized guitar solos. Whether you end up liking the song or not, you have to admit that nothing else sounds quite like this.

For me this would be a straightforward choice even without considering own-nominee bias. Sorry, @LooseCannon, but for the sake of liberty and justice I have to bear spray your nominee and vote for my own! Winner: Luca Turilli
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
Matheos is a really good composer and a solid player. Never heard Arch/Matheos before as I'm not a big fan of John Arch's voice, but this is a good song. The music is superb and I was enthralled the whole time. Arch is fine, I guess, but I agree with @Jer that the melodies don't stick too well.
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This song was excellent musically, but that guy's voice goes straight through my head. I find him highly irritating.

I had no idea what to expect before listening to Prophet of the Last Eclipse. Considering the epic DOOM game taking place on the album's cover, I definitely expected something less... vibrant. But this is one hell of a fun song, with gang choir vocals and Nightwish-esque synths stealing the show. It's beyond cheesy, and after looking up who this Luca Turilli guy is, it all falls perfectly into place. The end is far too artsy for me, and I'm rarely a fan of cliché running double bass power metal choruses with zero dynamics, but there's no denying that this song is fun.

But Travel in Stygian is an Iced Earth classic. However, the original album version suffers from weak production and the type of vocal I never like - high-pitched with no depth or rasp. This is the version I'm basing my vote on:


Yes, for a live album it's clearly overdub city, but there's no denying the raw power here. Matt Barlow can sound like a demon or an angel, which is so unbelievably rare (a trait he shares with the amazing Russell Allen). In comparison, most power metal singers have a lot of trouble with the "demon" role. The Barlow era of Iced Earth is why I place them above most power metal; the vocals have the unbelievably soaring Judas Priest highs, yet also deep, crooning lows. Seriously, listen to Dracula.

I also refuse to let Jon Schaffer's poor life decisions cloud my opinion of his often excellent music. Iced Earth for the win here.
 
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Results of Round 62:
Luca Turilli - Prophet Of The Last Eclipse
Iced Earth - Travel In Stygian

Guns 'N' Roses - Estranged (Nominated by @The Dissident)
vs.
Ice Age - Perpetual Child (Nominated by @MindRuler)
 
I’m not really a Guns N’ Roses kind of guy. I think they have maybe 5 or 6 great songs and a ton of filler, and few things make my eyes roll harder than Axl Rose trying to be Elton John or Billy Joel. He has a voice that works for a very specific set of things, and being a piano crooner is definitely not one of them. The intro here is weak, the verses are uninspiring, the interludes are flaccid, and there’s maybe one melodic line that’s halfway memorable in the entire song. The solos are solid, but they’re the closest the track comes to having any bright spots. Much like in the video, this song just sits there treading water for most of its runtime, eventually limping across the finish line. No thanks.

I’d never heard of Ice Age before, but aside from some lower rent synths and production this is pretty high quality hard prog rock. Nice riffage, solid singing, mostly memorable melodic lines, and the expected borderline-masturbatory instrumental sections. It didn’t blow me away, but it was solidly good and consistently engaging, which already puts it miles ahead of its competitor.

Sorry, @The Dissident, but @MindRuler ‘s nominee has yours completely outclassed here. Winner: Ice Age
 
The first 30 seconds of Ice Age's song were more interesting than the entirety of the GnR tune. Axl's whisper croak singing on the first half of Estranged is infuriatingly lame.

Never heard of Ice Age before, this was a fun listen. It's definitely a bit amateur in terms of production, but there's a ton of promise there. A lot of Rush worship for sure.
 
LOL, I just realized that it will have taken over 2 years to get through the first pass on these songs! @Night Prowler, after we complete Round 64 are you planning to do multiple match-ups in each round going forward, since we will have heard all the competitors already?
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
The first 30 seconds of Ice Age's song were more interesting than the entirety of the GnR tune. Axl's whisper croak singing on the first half of Estranged is infuriatingly lame.

Never heard of Ice Age before, this was a fun listen. It's definitely a bit amateur in terms of production, but there's a ton of promise there. A lot of Rush worship for sure.
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Yup, and also Styx ( The vocals)
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
The first 30 seconds of Ice Age's song were more interesting than the entirety of the GnR tune. Axl's whisper croak singing on the first half of Estranged is infuriatingly lame.

Never heard of Ice Age before, this was a fun listen. It's definitely a bit amateur in terms of production, but there's a ton of promise there. A lot of Rush worship for sure.
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Ditto. I may enjoy the occasional GNR song in passing, but in no way can I take Axl seriously. It’s like he’s trying to convey some kind of unknown emotion, but I can’t focus on what it could be because I’m chuckling inside the entire time. The video did not help matters, of course.

The Ice Age track, while far from perfect, is much more my speed.
 
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